I regret that I have no shoes until I saw a man without a feet.Appreciate what you have, rather than feeling sorry for yourself.

We are going to discuss many distinctive characteristics of successful leaders at the leadership course in DiscoveryLand Camp this year. Appreciation of what you already have is known as one of the keys to success. Indeed, life is a lot easier and more enjoyable with a positive attitude.

Robin Sharma- the author of The Leader Who Had No Title- in his recent video suggested that “Writing in a journal is a great way to record gratitude“. By doing that, you highlight and focus on your blessings, the good things in your life, in your mindset. In simple words…

Most of us have food on our table. Most of us have fresh drinking water. Most of us can breathe fresh oxygen. Most of us have people we love. Most of that us have work that matters. Most of us have all these incredible blessings that most people would never imagine having.

And yet we curse the fact that there’s too much traffic. We get upset about a difficult conversation with a hard customer. We stumble as we move towards closer our goals or our mission, and we get frustrated. And to make little things into big things and we start developing this mindset where little problems become problems. And as you know, a problem is only a problem if you choose to see it as a problem.

And what I’m suggesting to you is recording gratitude in your journal. Shift your mindset so you start to see things you didn’t notice around you. And everything becomes a miracle. And even this day becomes a blessing.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens written by Sean Covey, describes how teenagers can become more effective and independent by learning seven habits.

Here are a few quotes from the book just to give you impression on what kind the book it is.

“It’s especially hard to admit that you made a mistake to your parents, because, of course, you know so much more than they do.”

“Isn’t it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?”

“We are free to choose our paths, but we can’t choose the consequences that come with them.”

“The following is a list of statements made many years ago by experts in their fields. At the time they were said they sounded intelligent. With the passing of time, they sound idiotic.”

“If you decide to just go with the flow, you’ll end up where the flow goes, which is usually downhill, often leading to a big pile of sludge and a life of unhappiness. You’ll end up doing what everyone else is doing.”

“Instead of playing to win, I was playing not to lose. It reminds me of the story I once heard about two friends being chased by a bear, when one turned to the other and said, “I just realized that I don’t need to outrun the bear; I only need to outrun you.”

“Education must be a lifelong pursuit. The person who doesn’t read is not better off than the person who can’t.”

“I like how Mother Teresa put it: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile.” If you approach life this way, always looking for ways to build instead of to tear down, you’ll be amazed at how much happiness you can give to others and find for yourself”

“Don’t wait until people are dead to give them flowers.”

“These problems are real, and you can’t turn off real life. So I won’t try. Instead, I’ll give you a set of tools to help you deal with real life.”

Detailed communication regarding camp photos was recently sent to all participants of DiscoveryLand Camp’s 2013 first and second sessions. If someone did not get it – please contact camp administration.

Just a reminder, all camp photos for both sessions are stored at Picasa web albums. All details were sent in the letter.